Joe Cole blames Chelsea's poor finishing on 'low confidence' after UCL loss

Joe Cole put Chelsea's struggles down to 'low confidence' after they were beaten 2-0 by Real Madrid in Tuesday's Champions League clash.

After a bright performance in the first half from Frank Lampard's side, two goals from Rodrygo after the break ensured there would be no Blues comeback after they also lost the first leg in Madrid last week.

The Blues created two big chances in the first half but failed to convert either, with N'Golo Kante pulling a shot wide in the opening minutes and Marc Cucurella forcing a strong save from Thibault Courtois on the stroke of half time.

They were ultimately beaten by the better side and Cole felt their season-long struggles played into the loss.

He told BT Sport: 'They played well, particularly in the first half, but you can't discount how low the confidence is in the lads, chances are falling and the players should be doing better.'

For the former midfielder, who played in a Champions League final with Chelsea in 2008, the lack of stability at the club is a big issue for players.

‘If a manager was in place you’d have players playing for their place,' he continued. but there’ll be a new manger [next season].

'When do you even start with recruitment? It’s tough for Frank now, its hard to motivate a group of 30 players. It’s a hard job for Frank to get a tune out of that. Some of them will be trying to play for their futures and impress their next club.'

Rio Ferdinand felt the interim manager had to motivate players by trying to impress his successor, as he added: 'Frank has got to say "don’t think about me, think about yourselves and want you want to prove."

'There will be players saying "listen get me out of here as quick as you can, I don’t want to be there." For Frank it has to be about transitioning from this into next season.'

Chelsea have now lost all four of their games under Lampard in his second spell in charge, and are winless in their last six.

They no longer have the distraction of European football to keep the season alive, and have slid to 11th in the Premier League with seven games left to play.

The Blues will next be in action against Brentford on Wednesday, before potentially having a say in the title race against league leaders Arsenal the following Tuesday.